Selling Hatching Eggs & Breeding Question

[hollandhens24]

Looking for some guidance as to what is a fair asking price for hatching eggs. I am by no means a chicken breeder, but throughout the 4 years I have kept chickens I have set goals for egg color (what makes me excited!) and production (what makes my husband excited!) in my small free range flock. I have some folks interested in hatching eggs and would like to sell locally, but don’t know what a fair price is for what I’m selling and where I am selling. A local farm is selling “colored eggs” for $45 a dozen.

I have a flock of 10 hens that includes BCM, Whiting True Blue, Welsumer, F1 Olive Egger (WTB xWelsumer), silkie, and Easter Egger (WTB x silkie). My rooster is a WTBxBCM. I believe this rooster’s genetics on any of my flock will only produce varying shades of green and perhaps some browns(?).

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

[nuthatched]

A local farm is selling “colored eggs” for $45 a dozen

Sounds like he's soaking people, good gravy.

 

[hollandhens24]

Sounds like he's soaking people, good gravy.

I had never heard of this place until I started searching for the going rate around these parts. I would guess that when you’re the only source of local “specialty” poultry (part of their slogan) you can charge whatever you’d like. I understand people put a lot of years and money into specific breeding programs and expect these birds to be more expensive than hatcheries. They also charge $8 for straight run OE chicks and $12 for straight run Marans (black and blue copper). Is this above average asking price?

 

[nuthatched]

I had never heard of this place until I started searching for the going rate around these parts. I would guess that when you’re the only source of local “specialty” poultry (part of their slogan) you can charge whatever you’d like. I understand people put a lot of years and money into specific breeding programs and expect these birds to be more expensive than hatcheries. They also charge $8 for straight run OE chicks and $12 for straight run Marans (black and blue copper). Is this above average asking price?

It's way above normal for mixed breeds, which are usually less than $20 a dozen.
Anyone can order birds to be mailed to them for the last 100 years, so spending that much for for questionable quality and biosecurity is really sketchy.
Are they npip?

 

[hollandhens24]

It's way above normal for mixed breeds, which are usually less than $20 a dozen.
Anyone can order birds to be mailed to them for the last 100 years, so spending that much for for questionable quality and biosecurity is really sketchy.
Are they npip?

I am unable to find any NPIP information on their website, but I also don’t believe they ship, just sell locally. They do claim to breed for SOP Marans with 6-8 color scale eggs, so this may be something they’re factoring in. When it comes to pricing I’m truly clueles!

 

[redinator]

Looking for some guidance as to what is a fair asking price for hatching eggs. I am by no means a chicken breeder, but throughout the 4 years I have kept chickens I have set goals for egg color (what makes me excited!) and production (what makes my husband excited!) in my small free range flock. I have some folks interested in hatching eggs and would like to sell locally, but don’t know what a fair price is for what I’m selling and where I am selling. A local farm is selling “colored eggs” for $45 a dozen.

I have a flock of 10 hens that includes BCM, Whiting True Blue, Welsumer, F1 Olive Egger (WTB xWelsumer), silkie, and Easter Egger (WTB x silkie). My rooster is a WTBxBCM. I believe this rooster’s genetics on any of my flock will only produce varying shades of green and perhaps some browns(?).

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Even if they're offering a guarantee of egg color laid by the hatched chicks I wouldn't pay that much for hatching eggs locally, that's $3.75 for a single unhatched egg.

If I were purchasing shipped eggs I might pay that amount because I would take into account the cost of packing materials etc to get the eggs to me safely and the additional expense of being NIPP certified to ship across state lines etc.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I've sold "EE mixes" for $1.50 per egg. Olive egger with nice shades and from the BCM genes or speckles could be up to $3, I suppose. I've seen them go for more on eBay.

You could start at $2-2.50 per egg and see how many you sell. If you're selling out consistently, raise the price. Sounds like you'll be undercutting the competition significantly anyway.

If you haven't already, check your local Craigslist listings and facebook groups. Folks who don't have websites often post there (at least in my area).

 

[hollandhens24]

I've sold "EE mixes" for $1.50 per egg. Olive egger with nice shades and from the BCM genes or speckles could be up to $3, I suppose. I've seen them go for more on eBay.

You could start at $2-2.50 per egg and see how many you sell. If you're selling out consistently, raise the price. Sounds like you'll be undercutting the competition significantly anyway.

If you haven't already, check your local Craigslist listings and facebook groups. Folks who don't have websites often post there (at least in my area).

I think $1.50 is very reasonable. Once I have an idea of offspring egg colors and such I’ll reevaluate, but I’

I've sold "EE mixes" for $1.50 per egg. Olive egger with nice shades and from the BCM genes or speckles could be up to $3, I suppose. I've seen them go for more on eBay.

You could start at $2-2.50 per egg and see how many you sell. If you're selling out consistently, raise the price. Sounds like you'll be undercutting the competition significantly anyway.

If you haven't already, check your local Craigslist listings and facebook groups. Folks who don't have websites often post there (at least in my area).

I opted to start at $1.50. I’m by no means making a living from this and don’t know what colors to expect with my new roo. It’s just a hobby, though I hope to grow my knowledge and understanding of genetics and color production through trial and error I saw just this morning that others locally are selling “rainbow baskets” for $25 a dozen. I don’t have social media, so maybe my perception is distorted from the websites that I’ve viewed, but I’ve found it very common for $60-$80/dozen eggs, even with mixed breeds. Some local to Idaho, but others elsewhere in the US. I’ve never ordered hatching eggs from people, even with beautiful eggs, because I just can’t justify that expense with the risk that comes from hatching shipped eggs.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looking for some guidance as to what is a fair asking price for hatching eggs. I am by no means a chicken breeder, but throughout the 4 years I have kept chickens I have set goals for egg color (what makes me excited!) and production (what makes my husband excited!) in my small free range flock. I have some folks interested in hatching eggs and would like to sell locally, but don’t know what a fair price is for what I’m selling and where I am selling. A local farm is selling “colored eggs” for $45 a dozen.

I have a flock of 10 hens that includes BCM, Whiting True Blue, Welsumer, F1 Olive Egger (WTB xWelsumer), silkie, and Easter Egger (WTB x silkie). My rooster is a WTBxBCM. I believe this rooster’s genetics on any of my flock will only produce varying shades of green and perhaps some browns(?).

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

I had never heard of this place until I started searching for the going rate around these parts. I would guess that when you’re the only source of local “specialty” poultry (part of their slogan) you can charge whatever you’d like. I understand people put a lot of years and money into specific breeding programs and expect these birds to be more expensive than hatcheries. They also charge $8 for straight run OE chicks and $12 for straight run Marans (black and blue copper). Is this above average asking price?

I am unable to find any NPIP information on their website, but I also don’t believe they ship, just sell locally. They do claim to breed for SOP Marans with 6-8 color scale eggs, so this may be something they’re factoring in. When it comes to pricing I’m truly clueles!

Got a link to the Website?

$45 for quality pure breed hatching eggs doesn't sound too unreasonable.

The Major Hatcheries start out at about the same rate plus shipping.
Looks like Meyer starts around $4.34+ an egg, MM is $6.30,

Your local market really dictates pricing. If you're wanting to just sell a few eggs now and again, then look at your local Craigslist to see what eggs are selling for and match pricing.

Here in my area - yep. $48 a dozen +++ depending on the breed. That's on Craigslist. Some are $120 a dozen. See, location, breeds (pure breeds vs barnyard mixes), availability, etc., all come into play on pricing.

I wouldn't undercut your market pricing on pure breed hatching eggs. If your market/area is selling consistently at around $45 a dozen (for quality pure breeds), then stay in that price range with quality hatching eggs.

Mixed Breeds (Barnyard Crosses like you have) would sell for less of course. Maybe drop the price a dollar or so an egg, or make it an even $30-36 and see if you sell any. If there's no takers, then you can always run a sale/special. It's easier to have a sale, than go up in pricing.

Do take photos of your eggs, hens and roosters giving the breed descriptions. People like to see photos and if you are up front about what you have that's always best.

Do keep in mind, that you can "Ask", "List" any price you want. Selling is another story. There are many people that Ask or List a price for items/goods on websites, CL, FB, etc. but the products aren't necessarily "selling".

I have a flock of 10 hens that includes BCM, Whiting True Blue, Welsumer, F1 Olive Egger (WTB xWelsumer), silkie, and Easter Egger (WTB x silkie). My rooster is a WTBxBCM. I believe this rooster’s genetics on any of my flock will only produce varying shades of green and perhaps some browns(?).